What if everything had been different?
by Vaenarys
Summary: Zell participated in the SeeD exam and after that everything went to hell. It starts with the actual story of Final Fantasy VIII and continues with some major changes. Told from Zells point of view. Eventual Seifer x Zell. Rated for language and later chapters yet to come.
1. Chapter 1

Zell stretched and cracked his knuckles while slowly making his way back into Balamb Garden, trying to get rid of the adrenalin still rushing through his system.

Dollet had been a hell of a test, and it would have been hard enough even without Seifer going all the way from really fucking annoying to Hey you know what? I'm just gonna storm of and endanger about everyone involved in this mission. Thank ya so much for that, Zell thought angrily. Not to mention this stupid robot spider…thing which just would not die!

Now that he thought about everything that had happened today in more detail he was glad being back in one piece! All thanks to Squall and Selfie. Together they had shown that piece of junk who was boss. "Who would have guessed that we would work this well together?" He wondered out loud, not really watching where exactly he was heading until a familiar voice caught his attention and he stopped in his tracks, annoyance clear on his face.

"Squall! D'you hear about the communication tower in Dollet? We would've been heroes if it weren't for that withdraw order." Seifer said coolly, grinning as always while Squall just stood there not answering, but the silence wasn't lasting for long as Xu and Quistis walked over, both similar angry with Seifer. "You were only looking for a fight." Quistis started, look serious and teeth clenched.

"My dear instructor, I'm hurt. Those are rather cruel words for an aspiring student. A mediocre instructor like you will never understand." Seifer sneered, smirk still in place. Zell was pissed almost immediately, wanting to punch that bastard in the face.

"Seifer, don't be so stuck on yourself. You'll take all responsibility for leaving the designated area." Xu countered, and Xell was nodding in agreement, though no one would actually notice him, for he was still standing a few feet away, barely in hearing range.

Seifer, still oh so full of himself, did not seem bothered by that at all. "Isn't it the captain's duty to take the best possible action?" Zell rolled his eyes at that statement, of course he would think what he did was the right thing. He was about to step in and say someting as well when Xu laughed sarcastically and said: "Seifer, you'll never be a SeeD. Calling yourself a captain is a joke." And with that she and Quistis walked of.

Silence.

'She should not have said that.' Zell thought as he watched the two of them walking past him, leaving a clearly upset Seifer with slumped shoulders and a frown on his face in the middle of the hallway. Those words had been a whole barrell of salt in an open wound. Zell turned back to the scene and saw that Squall was still standing nearby, silent and not caring. Zell could only guess if the so called ice prince took satisfaction in what he just witnessed or if he was as taken aback as Zell himself.

Zell bit his bottom lip, insecure about what to do next. Should he just leave? No one seemed to have noticed him until now, so it would probably be alright, though he did not feel alright. He was not used to seeing Seifer any other than with his trademark smirk in place and stupid insults coming out of his mouth at any time of the day and while he was no fan of that behavior, being his number one victim for mockery besides Squall and all that..., he was definitely not as pleased with Seifer being put in his place like he thought he would be.

Lost in his thoughts Zell almost missed Headmaster Cid walking past him and giving his point of view on the matter. "Seifer. You will be disciplined for your irresponsible behavior. You must follow orders exactly during combat. But I'm not entirely without sympathy for you. I don't want you all to become machines. I want you all to be able to think and act for yourselves. I am..." but then a member of the Garden Faculty stepped into action "Headmaster Cid, you have some business in your office..." Zell wondered what the headmaster had wanted to say next but he only mumbled "There are so many things at hand here." and walked of, as well as Squall and the Garden Faculty guy, leaving only him and the other, now also unbearable silent, gunblade-wielder.

Zell could have left as well, but something about this situation bugged him, more than it should probably but he didn't care. Still a little unsure about his next action he took a deep breath and stepped into Seifers field of view...or so he would have if the gaze of the other had not been glued to the ground. Zell opened his mouth and closed it again soon after, thinking about how to start this conversation. He decided on "Crappy day, huh?" and almost kicked himself for that.

"..." Was Seifers answer, without even granting Zell so much as a glance. The martial artist exhaled loudly, why was he doing this again? and then sunk to the bench which Seifer was standing next to, trying to look as casual as ever. "She should not have said that." He offered then, repeating his thoughts from earlier.

"What do you care, Chickenwuss?" snarled Seifer, now suddenly glaring at him with anger in his eyes and frustration in his voice. "I was just trying to be nice here!" Zell exclaimed, now startled and not believing he actually thought Seifer would deserve some words of encouragement from him. "I don't need sympathy from a little chicken." the older blonde replied with a sneer, looking more like himself already, which Zell totally missed out on. "Stop calling me that!" Zell growled in response, anger rising and fists clenching. "I'll call you all the things I want, Chocobo-brain." Zell shot up from his seat at that and yelled "That's it! Wanna fight? FINE!" He got into a fighting position, hands up and glare fixed on the other, ready to strike, but just in this moment an announcement from the Loudspeakers got in the way "All students who participated in today's field exam, report to the 2nd floor hallway. I repeat: All students who took the field exam, report to the 2nd floor hallway."

Seifer made a derogative sound at that."Yeah, right." Then he turned to leave, but paused one moment seeming like he wanted to add something, but deciding otherwise. "See you later, wuss."

Zell watched as he left, still puffed up at their little encounter but just dropped his hands to his sides, turning at once and then walking on to the elevator. 'Stupid Seifer with his stupid insults and stupid sneer and stupid... everything!' It went on in his head like that until he reached the 2nd floor being reminded by the sound of the automatic door why he was here in the first place and suddenly nervousness rose in him. His knees shook slightly while he was walking over the bridge to the hallway he was supposed to be waiting in, seeing that other recruits were already there.

He went over to the wall opposite of the entrance, planning on leaning against it while waiting for the results, but found himself wandering around nervously only seconds later. Squall showed up shortly after and with him a Garden Faculty member, who appeared kind of bored while reading over the sheet of paper in his hands. "Dincht..." he said and Zells heart almost skipped a beat out of excitement, had he really heard that right? "Zell Dincht." The man said again and Zell jumped. He did! "OHHHHH YEAHHHHH!" He exclaimed happily, with a punch into the air, yelling "See yaa!" to the others and then practically running over to the bridge once again, this time so happy his grin felt like it reached from one ear to another, all bad feelings from before forgotten as he stepped into the elevator once again and pressed the button for the 3rd floor.

Stepping outside, he continued to the door to Cid's office. As he pushed it open he heard the door of the elevator again and turned to see Squall stepping out of it. "So you made it, too." He grinned and received a nod in return. Together they entered the office and got in line with two other students being already there. Selphie was one of them and greeted them both with a huge smile, Zell gave her a thumps up and received one in return. The other person was a guy who seemed kinda introverted. Zell had seen him several times in the library or so, he did not really remember his name. 'Niwa? Or something like that?'

While Zell was thinking the Garden Faculty guy from before began to talk, "These are the 4 students that passed today's exam." The Headmaster smiled at that and began his speech, snapping Zell out of his thoughts. "First of all, congratulations. However...From now on, as a member of SeeD, you will be dispatched all over the world. We are proud to introduce SeeD, Balamb Garden's mercenary soldiers. SeeD soldiers are combat specialists. BUT... That is only one aspect of SeeD. When the time comes..."

Zell sighed silently and began to prepare himself for a loooong speech but then the Garden Faculty guy stepped in once again cutting Cid short. "Headmaster...It's almost time for the meeting. Please make this short."

Zell quirked an eyebrow at that. 'Strange guys...' he thought before the man turned to them and started speaking "SeeD is a valuable asset to Garden. Its reputation is solely dependant on each one of you. Handle your mission with care." He concluded, turned to Cid again and said "Is that what you wanted to say, sir?" Without waiting for a response he added, this time adressing the recruits again, "Here is your SeeD rank report!" Cid finally stepped back into action, leaving Xell wondering why the Garden's staff was acting so superior over Cid.

The headmaster passed on to him, after he had given Selphie and this other guy their report. Leaning forward he whispered into Zell's ear "Try to control your emotions a little." Zell nodded slowly, already wondering how Cid meant that. Had he heard of Seifer's and his encounter from before? He shook his head lightly, not wanting to think about Seifer yet again. 'Impossible, but an advice worth taking...I guess' he thought. He snapped out of his mind at the right time, so he could hear the Garden Faculty member say "This ends the SeeD inauguration. Dismissed!"

While walking out with the others Zell looked down at his mission report and nearly fell over at seeing his score. '550 out of 600? THAT'S AMAZING!' He beamed with joy at his sheet while going down to the 2nd floor with the others. "How many points did you get?" Selphie asked while walking with him over the bridge to the hallway. "550, You?" Selphie smiled and held up her report. "Me too! Wrecking that stupid robot thingy totally boosted the score. Thanks for that again." She winked and Zell grinned "Anytime, but ya did a pretty good job yourself, couldn't have done it without you." Selphie blushed slightly and bumped his shoulder. "Stop it, you!" Zell laughed and then he looked up, only to see Seifer and the rest of the Disciplinary Committee standing in front of them. 'Uh Oh...' he thought, readying himself for a fight.

Seifer approached them slowly, glared at Squall for a second, eyed Selphie up and down and then he looked Zell straight into the eyes. Zell tensed visibly and clenched the fist which wasn't holding his report, expecting everything but that what happened next... Seifer started clapping his hands, soon followed by Fuujin and Raijin and after that all of the others in the hallway. Zell could not believe his eyes and then his surprise changed to embarrassment as he put his free hand on the back of his head, smiling shyly at everyone standing there.

The clapping stopped and the crowd scattered soon after, everyone wanting to get ready for the party in the evening. Seifer passed Zell on his way out and stopped for a moment, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. "Good job, Chocoboy." he said and Zell was about to hit him for the nickname when suddenly the other raised a hand and patted him lightly on the shoulder, leaving Zell stunned whilst Seifer went on to the elevator, Raijin following quickly whereas Fuujin stayed one moment longer and gave him a suspicious look.

"What?" Zell frowned at the young woman, never sure what to think of her. "Congratulations." She said then, monosyllabically as ever, but Zell was almost sure that she was about to say something totally different at first. "Fuu, ya coming? Haven't got all day, y'know?" Raijin called from the elevator. Fuu only nodded and left. Zell watched as she went and shared one last look with Seifer before the door closed and the elevator went down.

"Brrr... that was frosty." A voice piped up from behind and Zell turned to face Selphie who had been talking to some other students in the hallway just a second ago. "Huh...? You mean Fuujin?" Selphie nodded "She's kinda creepy, don't you think?" Zell only shrugged, "Dunno..." he didn't really know her much and it wasn't his style judging people without having really spoken or...fought with them at least once, though speaking with Fuujin never seemed very easy in the first place. "Nevermind." Selphie started. "Gotta go get dressed and all that! My SeeD uniform is waiting for meeeee." And with that she was gone. Zell smiled slightly and looked down at his report once again. "I'm a SeeD now..." He clenched his fist. "Feels awesome."


	2. Chapter 2

Zell entered the dorm he and another cadet shared up to this day. The other was absent at the moment and Zell couldn't help but feel grateful for that. He didn't mind the other boy, but they never had very much in common, so he was happy for at least 5 minutes to himself. Zell crossed the small living space to his bedroom and sat on his bed.

He looked around the room and while taking in all of his surroundings he could not help but feel a bit sad at the thought that at the end of the day he would have moved to his new room and also his new life as a SeeD. He had spent the last years living and learning here. All the ups and downs of his live as a student came rushing in for a moment and he fell back on the bed, smiling to himself as he stared to the ceiling. He was proud, really proud. A huge grin spread on his face and he threw some punches in the air out of pure joy.

Now he had taken an important step to his goal of becoming a great soldier. He turned his head to the side to look at a picture of his family on his night stand. It had been taken the day he had found out that he was accepted into Balamb Garden. He sat up taking the picture frame into his hands, his grin turning back into a smile. It showed him, his mom, his dad and his grandfather. They had been sitting in the living room that day, ready for dinner as Zell's dad came rushing in with a letter from the Garden. Zell had opened it instantly and remembered nearly falling over as he read the lines congratulating him on his acceptance.

His dad had pulled out his old camera and, after struggling really hard with the autotimer, managed to take a photo of proud Zell sitting and holding his letter in front of him grinning, while his mother and father stood on his side one hand on either of his shoulders and his grandfather behind him ruffling his hair. Zell sighed remembering sadly that not long after that his grandfather had passed away due to the consequences of an old wound from the war.

Grandpa Dincht had been the main motivation for Zells wish to become a SeeD. Zell had nothing but respect for him and all he had down for everyone during the war. It had taken Zell an eternity to get over him passing away. "I'll make you proud old man." Zell whispered, putting the frame back onto the nightstand. He paused for a moment, still looking at the picture in front of him. Then his gaze fell onto the digits of his alarm clock and Zell remembered suddenly that he had a party to attend.

Rising to a stand he hastily began to undress. He started to kick of his boots and tried to throw the jacket of his uniform to the bed at the same time, nearly falling over as he entangled himself in his clothes. He had just managed to free himself from his shirt as he heard a knock on the door. Cursing under his breath he looked to the pile of clothing on the bed debating on whether to put them on again or not. He heard the knock again, this time it sounded louder and faster than before. Zell scowled at the door and yelled "Coming." and made his way over to it, thinking that whoever it was they would have to deal with him bare-chested.

He pushed one of the buttons on the control panel of the automatic door and it slid open. Not waiting for it to open fully Zell hissed "What is it?!" It sounded more annoyed than he had intended to, but as he saw who exactly was standing in front of him now he regretted it not a bit.

Seifer seemed as annoyed as he was, scowling he looked like he wanted to say something but stopped the moment he saw Zell. Trademark smirk sliding back in place he said instead. "Nice getup, not exactly what I had expected you to wear to a SeeD party, though."

Zell rolled his eyes at that. "Now what d'ya want?" He asked crossing his arms in front of his chest, mainly to keep his fists from colliding with the older ones face but also to keep Seifer from staring at his bare torso.

"Here." The other said and handed him two key cards. "You and Squall forgot the key cards to your new rooms. Unfortunately I passed the headmaster in the hallway and he ordered me to give them to you." Zell took them and then raised an eyebrow at Seifer, wondering why he hadn't tossed them in the nearest trash can. It had been a shitty day for him and he had seen Seifer doing worse for less. "Thanks." He answered and Seifer only nodded before he turned and started to walk. "See ya, Chickie." Zell growled lowly at that last remark as he watched him leave but then a thought crossed his mind and without further consideration Zell asked bluntly "Ya comin' to the dance, too?"

Seifer snorted and stopped. "And why exactly would I do that?" Zell paused for a moment and then answered shrugging. "Was a hard day so far... guess it could be fun..." It sounded foolish, even to his own ears. Seifer turned to face him again, a mocking expression on his face. "Aww... Little chicken-wuss is concerned about me not having fun." Zell gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, nearly crushing the key cards in his right hand. "Ya know what? Forget that I even asked!" He yelled "I'll go to the party and have fun, even more so when you are as far away from the ballroom as possible!" Seifer shrugged it off and sneered at him. "I would consider putting on some clothes first." After that he walked around the corner. "Fuck you!" Zell shouted in his anger and was even more pissed when he heard Seifer laugh in the distance.

Zell closed the door and threw the keycards onto the nearest table trying to calm down again. Why had Seifer to tick him off EVERY SINGLE TIME they saw each other? He punched the nearest wall in an attempt to vent his anger, regretting it soon after feeling dull pain creep up his knuckles into his hand. He was glad he hadn't removed his gloves yet for they cushioned the pain at least a little bit. He looked down at his hands. He clenched and unclenched his fist a few times to check if any severe damage had been done. Sensing that the pain was already fading he realized that he still had to get dressed.

He returned to his bedroom and finally changed into his brand new SeeD uniform. He was halfway done with the buttons on the jacket when he remembered his gloves and slid them off, leaving them on the bed as well as his normal uniform. He turned to leave but stopped, nowadays he had his gloves on more often than not and it felt kind of weird leaving them behind. So fumbling with the last button on the front of the jacket he snatched his gloves back from the bed and stuffed them into his trouser pocket. After that he got the key cards from the table and left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

On his way into the ballroom Zell had to stop several times for small talk. Anyone wanted to congratulate him on his passed exam and all of them were impressed by the high score of his test. When he finally arrived at the ballroom entrance he was already exhausted and a little embarrassed about all of the compliments he had received. Being everyone's friend sometimes had its downside.

Zell sighed deeply trying to shake the weariness out of his body. He hadn't even started dancing! Not that he had anyone in mind for doing that anyway. Walking onward he spotted Squall leaning on a wall on the side of the room, champagne glass in hand sipping on it casually. The martial artist walked over, planning on congratulating someone else for once. He stopped right in front of Squall. Grinning wide he said "Yo! S'up, Squall? Heh-heh, I guess we're both SeeDs now, huh?" He extended his arm waiting for Squall to shake his hand. "Put it there, man." Zell encouraged him, but Squall did not seem very interested in a handshake and Zell's grin faltered a little bit. Then he shrugged it off. "Hah, even as a SeeD, you're still the same. Well, that's typical of you." Afterwards he waved the gunblader goodbye and started to walk away. "See ya."

As he turned he saw Selphie talking to several students, he was a little confused when she started scowling at them and they scooted off. He cocked his head at that. She noticed him soon after and rushed towards him, smile almost alluring as she suddenly clinged to his arm. "Oh...hey, Zell. Wanna join the Garden Festival committee and..." Ohh that's what all that was about, he freed himself quickly from her grasp. "Sorry, I...ahh..." Selphie tried to stop him from fleeing but he dodged her attempt at doing so. "Just remembered something!" He yelled. "G-Gotta go. See ya!"

He could practically feel Selphie's glare on his back as he quickly walked away. Trying to get as much distance between her and himself as he could. He wandered around the room for a bit, wondering for a moment what to do next. He could go over to the buffet and grab something to eat. His stomach rumbled at that thought and he mused that this would probably be a good idea.

Just as he was about to put his thought into practice, he saw Fuujin standing near the buffet. 'So Seifer IS here after all' Zell thought and began to glower around the room. But the older blonde was nowhere to be seen and Zell realized that no, Seifer wasn't here and in fact Fuujin was alone and she looked rather unhappy at that. 'Well…' Zell thought, 'Even more unhappy than usual.'

As he started to make his way over, he took a moment to really look at her. Her short hair was undone and the eye patch in place but that was about it for her usual appearance. He realized for the first time that evening that she wore a dress, which startled him a little bit, having seen her only in her all blue uniform. And it was a nice dress at that, he thought. It was long, with only one strap over her left shoulder and the color of a deep blue. No accessory.

Just as he was about to greet her she looked at him, surprise clear on her face and said "Chicken?" Zell almost fell over. 'Damn Seifer and those stupid nicknames!' He clenched his fists but quickly reminded himself that this was Fuujin and not Seifer, so instead of picking a fight then and there he said "Hey. What's up?" Hesitating for a moment he added "You look kinda…upset." She avoided his gaze saying nothing, only sipping on her drink Zell hadn't noticed until now. "Stood up." She murmured then and Zell bit his lip, realizing. "Oh." He answered intelligent as ever. 'Who would be this mean?' He asked himself gaze wandering around the room, searching desperately for something to change the topic to. Eventually he caught sight of a girl dragging Squall to the dance floor. Raising an eyebrow at that, he turned back to Fuujin, who was clearly lost in thought but also watched the dancing figures in the room.

Then an idea struck him. When Squall was able to get a girl to dance with him then Zell would too. Maybe he could even cheer her up at least a little bit. So without further thinking he held out his hand to her. "Wanna dance?" He asked, smiling and almost laughing when her eye went wide. "Joke?" She asked suspiciously and furrowed her brow. "No, I'm serious. Come on jus' one dance."

Fuujin hesitated, looking around the room before putting her glass down and slowly taking Zell's hand. "One." She then said almost shy and barely audible, like someone would judge her for saying it. "Great!" Zell answered cheerfully and guided her to the dance floor. He bowed before her and they got into a dancing position. Just in time for the music to start. To the right. To the left. One step forward. One backward. Circle around each other. Take her hand. Spin. He spun her around and back into his arms. They both knew the steps because it was one of the first choreographies they had learned in Balamb Garden for occasions like this.

Zell smiled realizing that he was actually enjoying himself very much and was relieved to see that Fuujin seemed a little more relaxed than before, too. It went on for a while like this. Until the last refrain was over and the room suddenly went dark and on the outside fireworks went off. Fuujin and Zell both stopped and looked up to the glass dome above their heads to enjoy the flashing lights for a bit. The music trailed off and some pairs left the dance floor. Fuujin and Zell did the same, walking back to the table were Fuujin had left her glass.

"Gratitude." Fuujin said and Zell thought he had just seen the faintest of smiles on her face. "Don't mention it." Zell answered raising his hand. "It was nice. You are a good dancer." Fuujin picked her glass back up sipping on it before looking at him responding. "Same." Zell grinned at her, thinking for a moment what to say next. He then put a hand behind his head and asked "Soo… we're friends now?"

Fuujin frowned but seemed to consider it for a moment. "Difficult." She concluded then gazing into the distance for a moment before turning back to him. "Seifer." She said then and Zell frowned as well. "You mean you can't be friends with me because of that jerk?" Fuujin shook her head and Zell was not sure if it was an answer to his question or out of frustration for him not understanding her right. But she seemed angry with him, so probably both. "Anger." She said clearly upset about Zell insulting Seifer. "Sorry." He said remembering the older blond was one of her best friends.

She nodded, her expression going back to a neutral one. She was accepting his apology and Zell was glad she did, not wanting to ruin the moment they seemed to have here. "Seifer." She then said again pointing look on her face and Zell finally understood, turning slightly he now spotted mentioned person across the room, noticing that he too seemed to be watching them.

"Oh." Zell said, for the second time that evening. Fuujin had a guilty expression on her face and Zell sighed lowly an idea forming in his mind but not believing what he was about to say. "Ya know, ya can throw the rest of ya drink in my face if it makes him feel better."

Fuujin looked at him astonished and then down at the rest of her drink. "Positive?" She asked eyeing his uniform. "Sure, was about to shower anyway and uniforms can be washed, ya know?" She still seemed to hesitate but with one last glance to Seifer she nodded to Zell. He came a bit closer whispering "Just yell something in anger throw the drink and then storm off." He received another nod as an answer as well as another "Gratitude." He whispered "Hey, that's what friends are for." Before she stepped to the side so Seifer could see them better. "RAGE!" She yelled and threw the last bit of liquid into Zell's face. Afterwards she put her glass down on the table next to them and walked off.

Zell had to turn his back on her to hide his grin. Fuujin would definitely make a good actress, if she wouldn't be so tight-lipped. He wiped his face with his sleeve before turning back around to check if Seifer had bought it. Judging by the huge amused grin he received from the older one, he had. Zell scowled at Seifer to not spoil their act and with one last glance at Fuujin who, to his surprise, mouthed another little "Thanks." turned back to the buffet, planning on finally eating something.

While filling his plate with several things Zell could not help but feel like he had had a little triumph over Seifer, even though he was the one with the wet uniform.


	4. Chapter 4

It was about an hour later that Zell left the party and headed for the dorms. He had decided to just wait in front of them for Squall after remembering that he still had to give him his keycard. The gunblade-wielder had not been anywhere to be found and after getting annoyed with searching for him Zell had just roamed the hallways he was allowed to enter after curfew. He wondered if Squall and that girl from before had gone somewhere to have some…fun, that meaning that the other wouldn't come back to his dorm until really late at night. Zell hung his head and shoved his hands into his pockets. 'That could still be HOURS.' He thought as he passed the entrance of the training center, stopping for a moment turning his head to look down the hallway.

He wasn't tired, hadn't drunken any alcohol tonight and his meal was about an hour ago so going to the training center sounded like a good idea to pass some time. He still pondered whether or not to go for a bit, but then his hand brushed against his gloves in his pocket and the decision was made. Sliding them on, he strolled down the corridor entering the indoor forest of Balamb Garden.

He took of his still slightly damp jacket off and revealed the dark shirt underneath. He rolled up his sleeves up and made some testing strikes into the air. Then he started to warm himself up, taking in the noises of his environment, bracing himself for a fight that could come at any time now.

Not soon after he was damp with sweat and surrounded by the bodies of dead Grats. Panting heavily, he ran a hand over his forehead and through his hair. Normally he had no problems with those ugly creatures but this last fight had been five at once. It had been hard to take, even for him and even more so after already finishing ten of them.

Zell went back to where he had left his jacket, wanting to leave and hoping that Squall would be back by now. Just as he reached for his jacket he heard a loud roar and something that sounded like several trees crashing onto the ground, followed by loud cursing of someone. By the sound of it Zell guessed that someone had gotten into a fight with a T-Rexaur. 'Not good, definitely not good.' Zell thought and prepared himself for another fight for the roaring became louder the longer he stood there.

Another loud crash reached his ear and then he saw someone running around the corner, followed by the huge creature he had been expecting. What he had not expected was Seifer being on his retreat. "Seifer?!" Zell exclaimed, not believing his eyes. Seifer stopped right beside him turning back to the creature which came to a halt as well, not able to decide which of them to attack at first. "Chicken-wuss." He panted, trying to retain his cool, but not once taking his eyes off of the monster in front of them. "Missed me? Or why are you following me?"

Zell could have sworn to have heard something like relief in his voice, understandable in such a situation. He had no time to think about it further because the T-Rexaur turned around to knock them off with his tail. Jumping out of the way, Zell yelled "Pure coincidence." back as an answer, now standing on the other side of the dinosaur, ignoring the fact Seifer was trying to tick him of in such a situation. "Need some help?" He asked then, seeing that Seifer was as exhausted as Zell himself. "If you don't mind." The other responded, dodging the next swipe of the T-Rexaurs tail.

Zell paused for a moment, making sure that the T-Rexaur was distracted, and junctioned sleep to his attack. He had to be very quick now, knowing the monster would kill him if he wasn't. Launching forward he jumped over the tail of the monster once more and used a nearby tree as a spring board to land on top of the back of their enemy. The T-Rexaur roared dangerously but before he could try to shake Zell off the boy jumped again landing a kick right to the middle of the head of the monster. Making it drop to the floor snoring the moment he hit him.

"Run!" He yelled at Seifer jumping off the back of the monster. He rushed over to the nearby stump taking his jacket from it. As he turned he couldn't believe his eyes. Seifer was still standing where he stood a moment ago paralyzed by the sudden turn of events and before Zell could think better of it he grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the training center.

They stopped running the moment the gate of the training center closed behind them. It took all Zell had not to collapse the moment they were out of danger. Leaning to the nearest wall Zell let go of Seifers arm. "That… was… close…" He said between pants, sliding down the wall to catch his breath. "You… think?" Seifer responded sarcastically but as short of breath as Zell, leaning on Hyperion for support.

"Hyne, only you would pick a fight with a T-Rexaur!" Zell laughed. Blame the adrenaline, but he was thinking this whole situation was hilarious right now. Seifer grinned, straightening himself while saying. "He looked at me funny." Zell and Seifer locked eyes for a moment, sweat dripping from their faces and onto the ground, both looking like hell. The silence was heavy but then they burst into laughter.

Once they calmed down again Zell had to wipe tears of laughter out of his eyes. "Haven't laughed like that for weeks." He said "And with you of all people!" Zell couldn't believe what was happening. At first he found himself dancing with Fuujin and now he was dying of laughter from a joke told by Seifer.

"Weird day, huh?" Seifer said leaning against the wall as well. Zell nearly started laughing again. The other asking him a question not only on a casual, but on a friendly basis? Zell was pretty sure he was going insane. But if going insane meant having a normal conversation with Seifer regularly, maybe it was at least worth it. He shook his head slightly at that last thought, trying to get rid of it.

"Heard you danced with Fuu." Zell was startled by that. "She told ya?!" He asked not sure what to think of it. Seifer sighed. "No, actually I saw you." He confessed, expression unreadable. "Oh." Zell responded, he had thought that Seifer had been absent during their dance.

"The drink to the face though…" Seifer stopped speaking for a moment shooting him a glare. "You did not hurt her, did you? Because if you did I…" Zell was startled again. "NO! 'Course not!" He exclaimed and raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"You like her?" Zell blinked confused. When had Seifer gotten this serious? "Wha? N-no." Seifer raised a brow at that and Zell faltered for a moment. "Well, not in that way ya implying." He scratched his head before continuing. "The dance was more of a friend-thing." Zell shrugged.

At first Seifer was silent but then he nodded slowly, adding a short "Good." before saying. "She's already taken." Zell raised an eyebrow at that. "By whom? You?" Seifer snorted shortly as if it was ridiculous to even suggest it. "Don't be stupid."

Zell furrowed his brow, thinking, and then it hit him. "Raijin? Seriously?" Seifers lips twitched into a small smile. "Yep, head over heels, ya know?" The older blonde said mimicking the catch-phrase of his best friend. Zell snorted at that but thought about it for a moment before he answered. "Kinda makes sense, though." He received another nod from Seifer. "Don't tell anyone." Seifer said soon after. "Rai would be pissed if he found out." Now it was Zells turn to nod, yawning while doing so. "Won't do that. Promise." He rubbed his eyes when he heard the other yawn as well and smirked tiredly. Looking at Seifer for a moment, he realized that they both should get some sleep soon. 'Sleep… Dorm… Keycard… Wait…' Zells thoughts trailed off and the then remembered why exactly he had gone to the training center in the first place.

"Squall!" He yelled suddenly and shot up from the ground, clearly startling Seifer. Zells legs were still a little weak and he was so tired from all the fighting and running that he almost fell over again. "Whoops…" He exclaimed, flailing his arms for something to hold onto before getting caught by Seifer. "The hell, Chicken-wuss?" Zell felt the warm of Seifers hand on his arm, a thought crossing his mind of why the other wasn't wearing his gloves like normally did, but he shoved him off the moment he found his balance again. "Don't call me that!" Zell responded, glaring at Seifer.

"Then don't startle me yelling the name of that stupid ice-princess so loud it could wake up the whole Garden." Seifer growled, expression as hard as before their little encounter with the T-Rexaur. Again they only stared at one another, but this time they were both sure to not end up in a casual conversation afterwards.

Seifer was the first to break the silence again. "…Go find your boyfriend." He added with a snarl, voice thick with anger and something else Zell wasn't able to pinpoint out of his own aggravation.

Zell clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, only barely stopping himself from punching Seifer right in the face. "He's not my boyfriend." He snarled, then extended his index finger and pointed it at Seifer. "You're the one who gave me his key card so I could pass it on to him. So don't pull that crap on me!" He huffed now out of sheer annoyance, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Wasted almost the whole night lookin' for him now."

Seifers expression softened, albeit only a little bit, and he responded "Whatever." before shouldering his gunblade and starting to walk towards the exit. Zell watched him in bewilderment, before picking his jacket off of the ground and following him. "That's it? No further insults?" He asked, scolding himself for sounding way too disappointed at that.

Suddenly Seifer spun around, taking Zell by surprise and slamming him into the nearest wall, using the arm that wasn't holding Hyperion for pinning the martial artist in place. "Listen to me, wuss." He growled lowly, pressing his arm harder against Zells throat, almost choking him by doing so. "It was a really shitty day for me, and I had to deal with way too much of your crap up to this point."

The older one paused and Zell held the stare of the cyan eyes right in front of him. They were filled with so much anger, frustration and disappointment that Zell began to feel bad for the other instead of getting pissed at his actions. "So you cheered Fuu up, fine. You tried to cheer me up. FINE." Seifers eyes narrowed at that and he continued "But don't expect me to go easy on you for anything you do for me or my friends, BECAUSE I FUCKING CAN'T!" That last bit was yelled straight into Zells face.

The silence that followed was tense and they stared wide-eyed at one another, both of them taken aback by Seifers last words. As usual, Seifer was the first to move. Zell watched as he dropped his gaze and stumbled backwards until he hit the opposite wall and then, the martial artist realized later on, the older one ran for it. Sure, Seifer had been trying to retain his composure by straightening up and leaving as slowly as he possibly could, but Zell knew that it would not have made any difference if he had actually run from the hallway.

"He… can't?" Zell asked after Seifer was out of his view and clutched at the fabric of the jacket in his hand. "What is that supposed to mean?" He wondered aloud, slowly starting to walk out of the hallway as well, not sure if he even wanted to know the answer to that question.


End file.
